Residents of Madonna Hall will need to have their identification cards programmed to use the new card reader at the front entrance of the building.

The magnetic stripe card reader at the front entrance of Madonna Hall has been replaced with a proximity reader, according to Sergeant Mike Pasqualicchio of Marywood campus safety.

According to Pasqualicchio, the old card readers are not made anymore.

“It’s very hard to get them. They’re kind of outdated,” Pasqualicchio said.

Pasqualicchio explained that although the way the cards are read has changed, the system is still the same.

The card readers throughout the hallways in Madonna Hall will remain the same unless they malfunction, in which case they will be replaced by the new readers.

Pasqualicchio said he had not heard complaints from students, who were notified of the change via email on Sept. 22.

“We’re only in about 24 hours and so far it’s pretty smooth,” Pasqualicchio said last Friday.

Olivia Alessandri, a sophomore speech pathology major, said she thinks changing the card swipe might make “getting in and out easier.”

“At first I thought the hours [to get the card programmed] would be too short,” said Alessandri. “But the process of getting my card changed was really easy.”

Kirstie Alvarez, a sophomore psychology major, said she wishes the change was more consistent.

“I think it’s cool, but I think it should be consistent throughout both [the front and rear] doors,” Alvarez said. “They should’ve given people more notice before they did it so they would’ve had time to switch their card.”

Elizabeth Carlson, Stephanie Leone and Katie Haczewski contributed to this report.

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